1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to ball throwing devices, and more particularly, to a ball throwing apparatus for accurately and adjustably throwing a ball, such as a baseball or softball, to a specific location with variable speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
The popularity of baseball at all levels of competition has led to the development of numerous devices for throwing balls for batting and fielding practice. Many of these devices, however, are relatively complex and costly and do not adequately reproduce the flight characteristics of a pitched or batted ball. Additionally, many of these devices require an external source of electrical power which is often unavailable. These factors combine to make existing ball throwing devices largely unsuitable for use by the vast number of players who participate in the junior levels of competitive baseball.
The complexity of many of the existing ball throwing devices is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 1,237,625 issued to Ferguson. U.S. Pat. No. 1,237,625 discloses a mechanism for throwing balls for batting practice. Although a ball thrown by this mechanism may be aimed with relative precision, the device does not adequately simulate a pitched ball since its throwing cup does not apply rotation to the ball as it is thrown. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,277,878 and 3,802,409, issued to Pankratz and Mike et al., respectively, are typical of those throwing devices which utilize elastics to project the ball. While relatively simple and inexpensive, these devices provide only limited directional control of the thrown ball and do not apply rotation to the ball as it is released. They are thus incapable of fully simulating the flight characteristics of a pitched or batted ball.
At very junior levels of competition, involving young children and amateur coaches, it is particularly difficult for the coaches to pitch for batting practice. Fear of hitting the child causes the coach to pitch very slowly in an attempt to guide the ball. The result is an almost complete loss of control of the pitch causing the ball to miss the strike zone. A relatively large number of pitches must therefore be thrown in relation to the number which are suitable for the batter to hit.
Therefore, there is a need for a manually powered ball throwing apparatus which is capable of accurately and adjustably throwing a ball to a specific, predetermined location simulating the flight characteristics of a pitched or batted ball.